American Reconstruction and the Abolition of Second Slavery

On Pascoe’s Intersectional Critique of Kant’s Theory of Labour

Bibliographic Data

ID21700378
AuthorsElvira Basevich (0000-0002-6324-9482, University of California, Davis, corresponding author)
Year2024
Volume29
Issue2
Pages229-237
Publication date2024-06-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueKantian Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1369-4154 • E-ISSN: 2044-2394
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s1369415424000232
OpenAlexW4396664185
LanguageEN
References cited9

To highlight the promise of Jordan Pascoe’s Kant’s Theory of Labour , my comments concern the diagnostic and prescriptive dimensions of the book’s excellent intersectional critique of dependent labour relations. The diagnostic dimension of Pascoe’s critique establishes that the organisation of dependent labour relations is a neglected problem of Kantian justice. The prescriptive dimension offers solutions to this problem but is underdeveloped. To enhance the book’s prescriptive dimension, I draw on the noted Africana philosopher W. E. B. Du Bois for guidance. For Du Bois, a constitutional republic ought to strive for the abolition of a ‘second’ slavery following the abolition of de jure black chattel slavery with the end of the American Civil War. Given Du Bois’ call for meaningful Emancipation, I argue that philosophers should reinterpret the Kantian normative ideal of freedom as universal independence to uproot the postbellum conditions of second slavery

Epistemology · Political science · Sociology · Gender Studies · Philosophy · Political Economy and Marxism · Political Philosophy and Ethics

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access